The Cycle Of Life

When able-bodied and differently-abled people get together for a unique adventure, stories are exchanged, lasting bonds are created, and a certain magic begins to unfold.

- Amrit Vatsa

I wonder if I will survive—if I will be able to complete the whole journey,” Reuven, a 68-year-old visually impaired cyclist from Israel, said. Reuven had come down to India to join the first-ever group of blind, visually impaired, amputee and able-bodied cyclists riding from Manali (Himachal Pradesh) to Khardung La (Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir). It’s a distance of over 500 km, with several high-altitude mountain passes along the way. It is said Khardung La is the highest motorable road in the world.

Yes, this is an adventure story. But it is also much more than that. This is the story of what happens when a bunch of adventure lovers—many of them strangers, meeting for the first time—gather to do something amazing together. As a volunteer-photographer in this remarkable expedition, I observed these people, spent much time talking to them, and saw first-hand why it makes sense for able-bodied folks and people with disability to hang out together.

In 2016, Divyanshu Ganatra became the first blind person to cover the Manali-Khardung La route on a bicycle. He used a tandem cycle—one where two people sit on adjacent seats and pedal together. His captain (the man who occupied the front seat of the bike) was an able-bodied cyclist, so navigation wasn’t an issue. What the feat required was a decent level of fitness, adequate practice and heaps of self-belief—all of which Divyanshu and his tandem cycling partner possessed in plenty.

It was a successful expedition, but the purpose wasn’t to create any kind of record. Divyanshu’s intention had always been to, first, prove that something like this could be done, and then, to help as many disabled people as he could to live out the same adventure.